The present exemplary embodiments relate to systems wherein objects or media sheets are presented, delivered or produced by a plurality of sources and wherein one or more aspects of the presentation, delivery or production of the objects is diagnosed, measured, and/or controlled. Embodiments will be described in detail in regard to integrated document processing systems or rack mounted printing systems. However, embodiments in other object handling or producing systems are also contemplated.
Broadly, document processing systems can include feed devices, marking devices, transportation devices and output devices. For example, feed devices can include paper trays or drawers. Transportation systems can include conveying devices such as driven nips (spherical or cylindrical), conveyer belts, air jets or vacuums, transport paths, hyper modules, and other mechanisms. Finishing devices can include output trays, staplers, binders, shrink wrappers and bundlers. In the case of printers and copiers, marking devices can include document processors, print engines or integrated image marking engines (IMEs).
In copiers and printers, sheets or media, such as paper or velum are transported by an interposer, or an interposer system, from paper trays or drawers to a print engine or IME. The IME receives data directing the IME to place marks on the delivered sheet. The IME places the marks (e.g., text or an image) on the sheet and the interposer carries the sheet away for further processing or delivery. The interposer may include a reverser or inverter for flipping the sheet to present an opposite side for marking. Additionally, or alternatively the interposer may deliver the sheet to an output device, such as an output tray or a finisher.
There is a desire for systems and methods that can identify and associate defects or faults to a particular IME, pathway or transport, feeder, finisher, etc (hardware components). For integrated document processing systems, prints can be produced from multiple sources. Likewise, there can be multiple and redundant paths for transporting sheets through the system. Isolation of the source of a print defect or sheet damage fault is therefore more complex than for single engine systems. In one example of a problem, media sheets can be damaged in one component and move further through the system (i.e. downstream) before the failure, such as a paper jam, manifests itself. Isolation of the cause of a damaged media sheet delivered to the output has the potential to be very problematic and costly. In another example, if a spot defect is detected on some pages of a job, either visually or by a sensor, the operator or service representative must be able to isolate not only the type of subsystem creating the spot (such as a contaminated photo receptor), but must also determine which IME is involved. In the case of damaged sheets, the responsible paper path element or transport employed in producing the sheet or print needs to be isolated. Tools and methods for debugging a print system must therefore be available to associate a print defect, shortfall, fault, or variance with the IME that produced the print or the paper path element that caused the damage or fault.
The following applications, the disclosures of each being totally incorporated herein by reference are mentioned:
Application Ser. No. 11/212,367, filed Aug. 26, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by David G. Anderson, et al., and claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/631,651, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “TIGHTLY INTEGRATED PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE MAKING USE OF COMBINED COLOR AND MONOCHROME ENGINES”;
Application Ser. No. 11/235,979, filed Sep. 27, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by David G. Anderson, et al., and claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,918, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FOR FINAL APPEARANCE AND PERMANENCE”, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,921, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FOR FINAL APPEARANCE AND PERMANENCE”;
Application Ser. No. 11/236,099, filed Sep. 27, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by David G. Anderson, et al., and claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,918, Filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FOR FINAL APPEARANCE AND PERMANENCE”, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/631,921, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH MULTIPLE OPERATIONS FOR FINAL APPEARANCE AND PERMANENCE”;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10,761,522, filed Jan. 21, 2004, entitled “HIGH RATE PRINT MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL PRINTING,” by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/785,211, filed Feb. 24, 2004, entitled “UNIVERSAL FLEXIBLE PLURAL PRINTER TO PLURAL FINISHER SHEET INTEGRATION SYSTEM,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/881,619, filed Jun. 30, 2004, entitled “FLEXIBLE PAPER PATH USING MULTIDIRECTIONAL PATH MODULES,” by Daniel G. Bobrow;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/917,676, filed Aug. 13, 2004, entitled “MULTIPLE OBJECT SOURCES CONTROLLED AND/OR SELECTED BASED ON A COMMON SENSOR,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/917,768, filed Aug. 13, 2004, entitled “PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE CONSISTING OF CONTAINERIZED IMAGE MARKING ENGINES AND MEDIA FEEDER MODULES,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,106, filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH HORIZONTAL HIGHWAY AND SINGLE PASS DUPLEX,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,113, filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH INVERTER DISPOSED FOR MEDIA VELOCITY BUFFERING AND REGISTRATION,” by Joannes N. M. deJong, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,458, filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled “PRINT SEQUENCE SCHEDULING FOR RELIABILITY,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/924,459, filed Aug. 23, 2004, entitled “PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE USING IMAGE MARKING ENGINE MODULES (as amended),” by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,959,165, issued Oct. 25, 2005, entitled “HIGH RATE PRINT MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL PRINTING,” by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/933,556, filed Sep. 3, 2004, entitled “SUBSTRATE INVERTER SYSTEMS AND METHODS,” by Stan A. Spencer, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/953,953, filed Sep. 29, 2004, entitled “CUSTOMIZED SET POINT CONTROL FOR OUTPUT STABILITY IN A TIPP ARCHITECTURE,” by Charles A. Radulski, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/999,326, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “SEMI-AUTOMATIC IMAGE QUALITY ADJUSTMENT FOR MULTIPLE MARKING ENGINE SYSTEMS,” by Robert E. Grace, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 10/999,450, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “ADDRESSABLE FUSING FOR AN INTEGRATED PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,158, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “GLOSSING SYSTEM FOR USE IN A TIPP ARCHITECTURE,” by Bryan J. Roof;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,168, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “ADDRESSABLE FUSING AND HEATING METHODS AND APPARATUS,” by David K. Biegelsen, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/000,258, filed Nov. 30, 2004, entitled “GLOSSING SYSTEM FOR USE IN A TIPP ARCHITECTURE,” by Bryan J. Roof;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,925,283, issued Aug. 2, 2005, entitled “HIGH PRINT RATE MERGING AND FINISHING SYSTEM FOR PARALLEL PRINTING,” by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/051,817, filed Feb. 4, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Steven R. Moore, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/069,020, filed Feb. 28, 2004, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/070,681, filed Mar. 2, 2005, entitled “GRAY BALANCE FOR A PRINTING SYSTEM OF MULTIPLE MARKING ENGINES,” by R. Enrique Viturro, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/081,473, filed Mar. 16, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Steven R. Moore;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/084,280, filed Mar. 18, 2005, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR MEASURING UNIFORMITY IN IMAGES,” by Howard Mizes;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/089,854, filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled “SHEET REGISTRATION WITHIN A MEDIA INVERTER,” by Robert A. Clark, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/090,498, filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled “INVERTER WITH RETURN/BYPASS PAPER PATH,” by Robert A. Clark;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/090,502, filed Mar. 25, 2005, entitled IMAGE QUALITY CONTROL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MULTIPLE MARKING ENGINE SYSTEMS,” by Michael C. Mongeon;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/093,229, filed Mar. 29, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Paul C. Julien;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/095,872, filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Paul C. Julien;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/094,864, filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Jeremy C. deJong, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/095,378, filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled “IMAGE ON PAPER REGISTRATION ALIGNMENT,” by Steven R. Moore, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/094,998, filed Mar. 31, 2005, entitled “PARALLEL PRINTING ARCHITECTURE WITH PARALLEL HORIZONTAL PRINTING MODULES,” by Steven R. Moore, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,899, filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled “SYNCHRONIZATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM,” by Lara S. Crawford, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,910, filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled “COORDINATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM,” by Lara S. Crawford, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,355, filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled “COMMUNICATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM,” by Markus P. J. Fromherz, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/102,332, filed Apr. 8, 2005, entitled “ON-THE-FLY STATE SYNCHRONIZATION IN A DISTRIBUTED SYSTEM,” by Haitham A. Hindi;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,558, filed Apr. 19, 2005, entitled “SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR REDUCING IMAGE REGISTRATION ERRORS,” by Michael R. Furst, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,566, filed Apr. 19, 2005, entitled “MEDIA TRANSPORT SYSTEM,” by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/109,996, filed Apr. 20, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Michael C. Mongeon, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/115,766, Filed Apr. 27, 2005, entitled “IMAGE QUALITY ADJUSTMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM,” by Robert E. Grace;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/122,420, filed May 5, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM AND SCHEDULING METHOD,” by Austin L. Richards;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/136,959, filed May 25, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Kristine A. German, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/137,634, filed May 25, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/137,251, filed May 25, 2005, entitled “SCHEDULING SYSTEM,” by Robert M. Lofthus, et al.;
U.S. C-I-P application Ser. No. 11/137,273, filed May 25, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by David G. Anderson, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/143,818, filed Jun. 2, 2005, entitled “INTER-SEPARATION DECORRELATOR,” by Edul N. Dalal, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/146,665, filed Jun. 7, 2005, entitled “LOW COST ADJUSTMENT METHOD FOR PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Michael C. Mongeon;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/152,275, filed Jun. 14, 2005, entitled “WARM-UP OF MULTIPLE INTEGRATED MARKING ENGINES,” by Bryan J. Roof, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/156,778, filed Jun. 20, 2005, entitled “PRINTING PLATFORM,” by Joseph A. Swift;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/157,598, filed Jun. 21, 2005, entitled “METHOD OF ORDERING JOB QUEUE OF MARKING SYSTEMS,” by Neil A. Frankel;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/166,460, filed Jun. 24, 2005, entitled “GLOSSING SUBSYSTEM FOR A PRINTING DEVICE,” by Bryan J. Roof, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/166,581, filed Jun. 24, 2005, entitled “MIXED OUTPUT PRINT CONTROL METHOD AND SYSTEM,” by Joseph H. Lang, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/166,299, filed Jun. 24, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Steven R. Moore;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/170,975, filed Jun. 30, 2005, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING SCANNED PATCHES FOR USE IN IMAGING DEVICE CALIBRATION,” by R. Victor Klassen;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/170,873, filed Jun. 30, 2005, entitled “COLOR CHARACTERIZATION OR CALIBRATION TARGETS WITH NOISE-DEPENDENT PATCH SIZE OR NUMBER,” by R. Victor Klassen;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/170,845, filed Jun. 30, 2005, entitled “HIGH AVAILABILITY PRINTING SYSTEMS,” by Meera Sampath, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/189,371, filed Jul. 26, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM,” by Steven R. Moore, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/208,871, filed Aug. 22, 2005, entitled “MODULAR MARKING ARCHITECTURE FOR WIDE MEDIA PRINTING PLATFORM,” by Edul N. Dalal, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/215,791, filed Aug. 30, 2005, entitled “CONSUMABLE SELECTION IN A PRINTING SYSTEM”, by Eric Hamby, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/222,260, filed Sep. 8, 2005, entitled “METHOD AND SYSTEMS FOR DETERMINING BANDING COMPENSATION PARAMETERS IN PRINTING SYSTEMS”, by Goodman, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/234,553, filed Sep. 23, 2005, entitled “MAXIMUM GAMUT STRATEGY FOR THE PRINTING SYSTEMS”, by Michael C. Mongeon;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/234,468, filed Sep. 23, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM”, by Eric Hamby, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/247,778, filed Oct. 11, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM WITH BALANCED CONSUMABLE USAGE”, by Charles Radulski, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/248,044, filed Oct. 12, 2005, entitled “MEDIA PATH CROSSOVER FOR PRINTING SYSTEM”, by Stan A. Spencer, et al.; and
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/274,638, filed Nov. 15, 2005, entitled “GAMUT SELECTION IN MULTI-ENGINE SYSTEMS”, by Wencheng Wu, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/287,177, filed Nov. 23, 2005, entitled “MEDIA PASS THROUGH MODE FOR MULTI-ENGINE SYSTEM”, by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/287,685, filed Nov. 28, 2005, entitled “MULTIPLE IOT PHOTORECEPTOR BELT SEAM SYNCHRONIZATION, by Kevin M. Carolan;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/291,860, filed Nov. 30, 2005, entitled “MEDIA PATH CROSSOVER CLEARANCE FOR PRINTING SYSTEM”, by Keith L. Willis;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/292,388, filed Nov. 30, 2005, entitled “PRINTING SYSTEM”, by David A. Mueller;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/292,163, filed Nov. 30, 2005, entitled “RADIAL MERGE MODULE FOR PRINTING SYSTEM”, by Barry P. Mandel, et al.;
U.S. application Ser. No. 11/291,583, filed Nov. 30, 2005, entitled “MIXED OUTPUT PRINTING SYSTEM”, by Joseph H. Lang;